- 2 hours ago
A robbery turns into an abduction; surveillance leads the law to a suspect who won't give up the victim's location; Holland works the suspect for hours, racing to find her before time runs out.
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00:11There's a couple things in my career I really wish I could erase.
00:18Pour bleach in my brain and sanitize.
00:23And what I saw that day, it's something that I'll never forget.
00:30We have a robbery and a kidnapping of an innocent woman.
00:33She's a mother, a grandmother, and a friend of the community.
00:39Be honest with me.
00:41We're driving out here to find this girl, or we're driving out here to find a body.
00:44And then there's another strange twist in the story.
00:48I didn't know there's people capable of this type of evil.
00:53Man!
00:54Man!
00:55Man!
00:57Man!
00:58Man!
01:19Scotland is a very small, tight-knit community.
01:25There's a small cafe, a service station.
01:31The rural areas don't have enough personnel,
01:34so when we got the call that somebody was missing,
01:39it was really a shock.
01:41I knew that we needed a ranger.
01:49I was actually on my way home,
01:51and I got a call that there was a kidnapping and armed robbery
01:55in Scotland, Texas.
01:58It's out in the middle of nowhere.
02:01I was excited but also nervous
02:05because at the time, I was new to the rangers.
02:09This may have been around my second or third case.
02:16When I arrived in Scotland at this convenience store,
02:20I meet with Ed Daniels, the sheriff of Archer County,
02:23and he gives me a quick rundown.
02:25About 3 o'clock, the store is robbed.
02:31Linda Daffrin, who went by Mindy, was the 46-year-old convenience store clerk
02:36that had been abducted.
02:39It's been three hours since this kidnapping occurred,
02:44and as I get closer, I realize how many people were in there.
02:50And when I saw all those people, I was worried
02:54because I look at that crime scene and I'm thinking,
02:59if a suspect print is in there or something meaningful,
03:03the chances of it still being there are nil.
03:08A lot of these departments are small.
03:11They're underfunded.
03:12I mean, when's the last time they had a murder?
03:15When's the last time they had an aggravated robbery?
03:18So they don't have that level of expertise.
03:21And I basically said, get everyone out of the store.
03:25And I went in and started trying to figure out what happened.
03:30The owners of the Scotland store had been burglarized recently,
03:33and so they had actually purchased a video system
03:37that covered the inside of the store as well as the outside of the store.
03:41Deputies on the scene told me that the entire crime
03:44was captured on video surveillance footage.
03:51And even had an image of the suspect.
03:55The next step was to go back and look at this video for myself.
03:59I'm trying to kind of look at that system.
04:02And it's down.
04:06It's in record mode.
04:09I'm thinking, did they record over the evidence after they had watched it?
04:15And I was really concerned that there was just going to be nothing left.
04:23It was a real shock I thought, well, what do we do now?
04:28If the video's not actually working, I mean, it just, it becomes a really impossible task.
04:36My level of frustration, you know, steadily going through the roof, because the problem is, the more time that goes
04:44by without finding Mindy Daffrin, the less likely it is that we're going to find her alive.
04:51So there's a clock, and it's ticking.
05:01You know, we did everything we could do at the scene.
05:03We crossed the street to the Scotland City Hall.
05:07You know, I interview Mindy's husband, who contacted 911, which I think was difficult on him.
05:14And he went into the store, and he knew when she was gone that, you know, something was awry.
05:21And he looked in the cash register.
05:24There was around $3,000 to $5,000 that would be there normally, and the money was gone.
05:31All my deputies were looking for her.
05:34We contacted the other local county agencies.
05:38Just a shock to the small community.
05:42Mindy was just a super personable person, just, everybody loved her.
05:47You know, she just, she made friends very easy.
05:51The Daffrin family owned the store.
05:54I think most of the employees were relatives.
05:56Visited with them fairly often.
05:59I'd stop in that store, get something to drink or sandwich or whatever.
06:04She was just what I'd call just a good, fantastic person.
06:09When you're looking for somebody, especially like you know, you know, personal,
06:14the fear factor is greater, and it just, it affects you so much different.
06:29That night, I get a phone call from the DA investigator for that county, Kevin Benton.
06:36And Kevin basically says, hey, I would be out there helping you, but I can't right now because I'm at
06:44a house fire.
06:48Early afternoon, I responded to a call in Montague County.
06:54There was a house fire, and there was a dead body on the front porch.
07:00While I'm examining that body, they have now found a second body.
07:06I got suspicious immediately because there was an accelerant used.
07:11And the second body, it was obvious that she had, you know, major head trauma.
07:17I knew we had probably two homicides.
07:20A neighbor that showed up told me who lived at that house, which was James and Karen, France.
07:29We experienced a violent crime, but generally speaking, I'm not working on two homicide victims
07:34and have a robbery and kidnapping going on at the same time in two rural counties.
07:44The clock is still ticking, and it's not going to stop just because our resources are divided.
07:49On the Mindy Daffrin abduction, there is really not a whole lot to go on at this point.
07:57So I was hoping technology forensic gurus could help us out with the video.
08:05Ranger Holland requested that I go and assist with trying to recover the store's video.
08:12There had been some problem downloading the video.
08:15It wasn't downloaded properly.
08:18Luckily, the Wichita Falls Police Department, they had been able to recover the video.
08:25So at that point in time, I worked with getting a copy of the video out to establish a lead
08:32on our suspect.
08:34There was excitement because we still have the video.
08:39As the video comes up and I'm able to review it,
08:42I'm going to check it out.
08:43About 3 o'clock, I see a dark-colored black Ford Explorer pull into the parking lot.
08:52And it has some type of a silver trim on it.
08:56And then someone comes into the store.
09:05And it's an average-sized white male wearing blue jeans, a dark shirt, and a dark ball cap.
09:12And then we don't have any guns, too.
09:15And then we don't have any guns, too.
09:17And then we don't have any guns, too.
09:18Out of hand?
09:20Daffrin.
09:22And then we don't have any guns, too.
09:22And then we have, uh, water?
09:24Yeah, a cup of iceboard.
09:25Yeah, we get a cup of ice over there, and we put ice water in it back here.
09:28That'd be 11 pence.
09:30Initially, it doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary.
09:33It doesn't seem that Mindy Daffrin is disturbed or bothered in any way or suspicious.
09:38It just seems like probably a normal day in that convenience store.
09:43Good day.
09:47Have a good day.
09:51He leaves the store, goes back into his vehicle, and repositions his car.
10:00He then comes back into the store.
10:04Hello.
10:07We're still.
10:15Oh, don't need to take that.
10:17Don't need to take that.
10:19Oh, good Lord.
10:21Take that.
10:36Oh, don't need to take that.
10:38Change that.
10:39One hand out of hand.
10:41Get a hold of that.
10:42I'll put it over.
10:44Drain it.
10:44I'll drain the pipe.
10:45OK.
10:47The guy comes into the store, and he immediately draws a gun and sticks it in Mindy Daffron's face.
10:53This guy's dangerous.
10:55He's methodical.
10:57He's controlled.
10:59And he has a game plan.
11:01Unfortunately, that game plan involves leaving with Mindy Daffron.
11:07And now we have the general description of the vehicle and the suspect.
11:11So we needed to get these pictures out there.
11:14And I start pulling out maps, and I was thinking about, you know, who would do this?
11:20Where would they come from?
11:21So I start literally drawing lines on this map and tracing down towns.
11:31Olney, Henrietta, Wichita Falls, Bridgeport, Bowie, all the, you know, rural areas around there that would be within a couple
11:38hours that would make it reasonable for this person to do this.
11:45I call all these police departments that I identify, and I talk to the dispatchers, and I tell them, I'm
11:51going to send you these pictures.
11:53And it's not enough that you tell your guys about it.
11:58I want you to bring anyone in who's working tonight.
12:01I want you to have them look at those pictures.
12:04I felt positive that if we could figure out where he's from, law enforcement would know him.
12:09He seems like he's someone who's done this before.
12:13I mean, it was frustrating because we're working against the clock.
12:17And it's probably like, I don't know, four or five in the morning at this point in time.
12:22I was a new ranger.
12:23And the mantra of the rangers was, you work until the bad guy's in jail.
12:36Eventually, about 7 in the morning, we got a phone call from Bowie Police Department, from the dispatch.
12:43An officer from Bowie PD said there's no doubt in his mind that the person depicted in these photos is
12:54Wallace Bowman, a 30-year-old male sex offender from Bowie, Texas.
13:00And he drives a black Ford Explorer with silver trim.
13:08The call with Bowie PD ends that they are rallying their officers, that they have everyone in the PD out,
13:16and they're canvassing Bowie in the surrounding area trying to locate Wallace Bowman.
13:25The Bowie Police Department had actually spotted Bowman's vehicle at a little motel there in Bowie.
13:33Officers said Wallace Bowman was in the motel room with a female.
13:41Knowing Bowman has a history of sexual offenses, there's even more urgency to finding Mindy Daffer.
13:51Time is of the essence, and I hauled ass to Bowie, Texas as fast as I could.
13:59As I'm driving down the road, Bowie PD ends up getting the key to the door, they knock on the
14:05door, they make entry, and they come across a young woman.
14:14Unfortunately, it's not Mindy Daffer.
14:17It was a gut-punch moment, because we were just, you know, almost convinced it's our kidnapped victim, we finally
14:23got her.
14:24And of course, no idea at that moment where our kidnapped victim really was.
14:28And they ask her, where is Wallace Bowman? And she says he's under the bed.
14:38I arrive on the scene, and I see someone who matches Wallace Bowman's description in front of the motel in
14:49handcuffs.
14:58I arrived just after Ranger Holland and the Archer County investigator arrived.
15:04He was not wearing a shirt. He looked fairly disheveled.
15:08He had, in my opinion, wild-looking eyes.
15:13My primary mission is to get him to direct me to where Mindy Daffer is.
15:18He had just had several officers storm into this hotel room and place him in handcuffs at gunpoint.
15:27So, you know, I need to separate myself from these officers. I'm the guy who's there to help him.
15:33He's in a jam, and he would rather deal with me than those other cops.
15:38You have the right to terminate this interview at any time.
15:41You know, basically, if you want to talk to me, you want to talk to me?
15:48I'll do everything that I can to help you if you help me find the place.
15:54Okay. You want your shirt on?
15:58One of the first things, I secured a shirt and actually put it on him while he was handcuffed.
16:04It's a way for me to fall over backwards to try to help him and make him comfortable in any
16:12way, shape, or form to get him to like me and open up to me.
16:16Tell me what happened yesterday.
16:18Tell me what happened yesterday.
16:20When I've been there, by the place, and went, burned off, and dropped off under low.
16:32Wallace Bowman says he drops Mindy Daffer off in the middle of nowhere unharmed.
16:37The question is, is he telling the truth?
16:41The clock is ticking.
16:43The more time that elapsed, the less likely it is that we're going to find Mindy Daffer alive.
17:04Right now, Wallace Bowman's been arrested.
17:07He's the one who took Mindy Daffer.
17:09But no one's heard from her since yesterday.
17:11So, every minute that goes by, Mindy Daffer's life is in deeper and deeper danger.
17:19When I arrived at the motel, Ranger Holland and Wallace Bowman began to form a connection, if you will.
17:29Wallace Bowman stated that he had taken Mindy Daffer and had actually turned her loose on a country road.
17:37I didn't know Jim. I didn't know what type of investigations that he would conduct.
17:43I was a criminal investigator, and I was assigned to violent crime for 15 years.
17:48And so, I felt like I needed to monitor.
17:52And I remember Kevin looking at me, and I could just read his expression, and he was basically saying, you
18:01better not this up.
18:03And here I was, this brand new ranger that he didn't know, and at the end of the day, he
18:07was working for the office that would be responsible for the prosecution of this.
18:12Do you know who the lady was, or?
18:15No.
18:15Do you know where the floor was, what town it was in?
18:18I didn't. No, it's not my head.
18:20Okay. What were you doing over there?
18:23I was just riding around.
18:25It's rather bizarre, but he makes it just sound like a random event.
18:30I don't know if it was so much that I believed him, but from an investigative standpoint, this is the
18:36direction that he's pointing me in, and really, I don't have a whole lot of choice.
18:41Am I worried about Mindy Daffrin?
18:46Yeah, absolutely.
18:47Because I saw that Wallace Bowman's body is shaved completely.
18:53And in my experience, you know, that could be an indication of some type of sex offender or rapist trying
18:59to remove evidence.
19:01So seeing him, hearing his criminal history for sexual assault, I'm starting to think about the possibility of a sexual
19:11element to this crime.
19:13Okay, you didn't hurt her?
19:15No.
19:15Did you do anything to her?
19:16No.
19:17You just let her walk?
19:18Yes.
19:18Okay.
19:19How far was she from anything?
19:21I mean, was she near a house, or did you duct tape her or tie her up or do anything?
19:25Take her shoes from her?
19:26Nothing like that?
19:27Okay.
19:28Um, and what did you do with the gun?
19:31Uh, Amy G. Burnley.
19:33Threw it in there?
19:35Okay.
19:36Hang on one second.
19:38I reached out to Ranger Jay Foster, and I asked Jay to come in and process the hotel room in
19:45the suspect vehicle.
19:48My strength is in crime scene investigation, collection of evidence, and we're working as fast as we can trying to
19:55find any lead that will lead us to Mindy,
19:59I hadn't spent enough time with Bowman, where I felt like I had a really good read on him.
20:05So I just asked him to take me to the location where he dropped Mindy Daffrin off.
20:12And Bowman agrees.
20:20The car is not an ideal location to conduct an interrogation, but it's what I have, and it's the cards
20:27I've been dealt, so I'm going to play my hand as best I can.
20:32Last time you saw, she was walking and everything was good?
20:35She took off across the pasture.
20:37Okay.
20:38So what's the best thing for you to go back to the store and work from there?
20:42Uh, no, we can go away with us.
20:45Bowman directs me to this location where he says he dropped Mindy Daffrin off.
20:52It's closer to the store, but it's about 40 miles from where we're currently at in Bowie, Texas.
20:58Okay, so where am I going to go on here? Just keep going on 174?
21:01Keep on going straight.
21:03Okay.
21:04I know I'm going to be in the car with him for 40 minutes.
21:07My goal is to take this time and turn it into something productive, which is building some type of rapport,
21:14a reason for him to tell me the truth, of what happened to Mindy Daffrin.
21:19Why did you take her with you, man? That's what blew my mind. What was going on?
21:23She was telling me she didn't, she wasn't going to let go of the money and stuff.
21:27Oh, she was still holding the money when she went outside? And she wouldn't let go?
21:32He's basically saying that Mindy Daffrin won't release the money. Is this the truth?
21:44From what I saw in the videos, no, absolutely not.
21:48Does it do me any good to call him out and let him know? I don't think so.
21:53And she didn't want to fight or anything after that? She just wanted to be free?
21:58And you're telling me the truth that you didn't hurt her?
22:01Do you think she's walking out on a pasture or what do you think happened to her?
22:09How far out in the middle of nowhere were you?
22:1110 miles in the middle of nowhere? Be honest with me.
22:18We're driving out here to find this girl or we're driving out here to find the body?
22:21No, no, no. She took off. She took off. I didn't kill her. I let her go.
22:28And he's saying some things that I think are really peculiar and odd, but he stays on the same page
22:35with telling me that he dropped off Mindy Daffrin and he left her unharmed.
22:43Bowman keeps repeating over and over that he didn't hurt her, almost as if he's trying to convince himself it's
22:49a red flag.
22:50I need him to keep talking. The more he speaks, the more likely it is that he slips up on
22:55his own lies.
22:56Okay, so we're in Winthorpe right now. We're on the left or the right?
22:59Mm-hmm.
23:00Bowman directs me to this road that goes nowhere, in the middle of nowhere.
23:06I mean, this is an area that she could survive in, but I'd be really worried about what type of
23:11shape she would be in overnight without any type of food or water.
23:14Tell you what, cell phones suck out here. I'm afraid she might have tripped or fallen or gotten bit by
23:20a snake or something crazy.
23:22Are we on a wild goose out here?
23:25It's not a doctor out there.
23:27We ended up traveling to that location. Bowman was adamant that he'd turned her loose.
23:36And so we had a Department of Public Safety helicopter.
23:40We had search dogs. We had a team of people on horseback, began searching the area, seeing who could find
23:46any sign of Miss Daffern.
23:49Is there any doubt in my mind that, you know, Mindy Daffern was here? Yeah.
23:53It's just vast, open spaces, the epitome of West Texas.
23:58How much land do we have to cover? How far could she have gotten? I mean, thousands of acres.
24:21The search has gone on for several hours, and the longer we're out there, it starts becoming apparent to me
24:28that Wallace Bowman is not telling the truth, that he did not let Mindy Daffern out this location safely.
24:35And I made a determination at that time that he was not going to stay there, and we immediately left.
24:42All right. I'm going back that way. Sound good?
24:48As I'm driving to the Monte County Jail with Wallace Bowman, my thought process is continue to build his trust
24:56and get him to like me.
24:57And I mean, the easiest way to do this is to break bread.
25:02You hungry? You'd like some food?
25:06Yeah, you'd be hungry. I haven't eaten it since yesterday at 2 o'clock.
25:10I decide to feed him lunch. And we hit a fast food place and grab burgers and french fries.
25:19If anyone actually knew what I was doing, then I would be getting some grief from my co-workers and
25:23my boss.
25:24But the reality is, being a Ranger is like operating on Mars.
25:28You're in your own planet, and you're doing your own thing, and you have total and complete autonomy.
25:34Can I get a number two? And can I get a six pack of nuggets with sweet and sour sauce?
25:43That'll be it. Thank you.
25:47Get forward, man. I'm going to need a second job to support your eating habits.
25:52It's bizarre. We drive through the fast food restaurant to get our food, and the young lady working the counter
26:00immediately recognizes Wallace Bowman.
26:04Hey, you know if this house burned down?
26:07It burned like down yesterday.
26:10And for respect.
26:13I remember thinking immediately, it flashes through my mind, about Kevin Benton working this arson fire, and two bodies being
26:27discovered.
26:29The way it came out of his mouth, please pass on my regards, which was kind of like, I don't
26:37like him very much.
26:38It begins to dawn on me that Bowman had done that arson.
26:43And he's not only an armed robber and a kidnapper, but it's looking like he could be a killer.
26:53While that was occurring, I got a phone call.
26:56And it was an investigator with the Bowie Police Department.
26:59Information had come over the police radio that a farmer out in the country in Montague County had found a
27:05purse with items that belonged to Karen France.
27:09It was, of course, my original murder victim on that fire scene.
27:15Her purse was there, some ID was there, that there were some clothes that had been thrown over and hung
27:20on a fence.
27:21And the investigator said, you're not going to believe this, but the clothes that are here, he said, are appeared
27:27to be Wallace Bowman's.
27:32Wallace Bowman had been living out of his car for a while.
27:36The majority of his clothing were t-shirts that were black with white skulls and that type of thing.
27:42And the shirt hanging on the fence was a black shirt with white skulls.
27:48The pants had a lot of blood on them.
27:51On the pant leg, somebody had written in magic marker, I heart J.R.
27:56And Wallace Bowman Jr. was known locally as Junior.
28:01Wallace Bowman was essentially a career criminal, if you will.
28:05In fact, when he went to the penitentiary, that's when he met James and Karen France's son.
28:11They apparently became friends when he was getting out.
28:15And the Frances actually let him move into their home for a couple of months.
28:19And that was his connection to James and Karen France.
28:32Now we are at the Montague County Jail.
28:35Bowman and I get out of the car and step into the Montague County Sheriff's Office.
28:40And we sit down and we start eating our burgers and fries.
28:46And very nonchalantly, I tell Wallace that I am now convinced that he killed Mindy Daffrin.
29:00And his demeanor changes and he begins to cry and sob for a little bit.
29:08And at this point, I place him in front of the camera.
29:12I want to get to the truth.
29:14I want to get the answers.
29:23Today is Saturday the 16th.
29:25Yesterday was the 15th.
29:28We talked before and you kind of said you had some issues going up to yesterday.
29:31Let's talk about those issues for a little bit.
29:33What's going on in your life?
29:36I'm going out with this girl for the past three, three and a half, four months.
29:39She's pregnant with a child and stuff.
29:42I kind of figured that she was going behind my back being with her ex-boyfriend.
29:46I mean, it was tearing me down because you knew how much I loved her and stuff.
29:50And I couldn't think straight.
29:52I rode around hours and hours feeling left out.
29:55Feeling, I mean, just lost.
29:57Mm-hmm.
30:00Well, you end up over in the Scotland area.
30:02Tell me what happens.
30:05I just whipped up in there because it's a 20-something drink.
30:08Mm-hmm.
30:09She said you can get a glass of water, ice.
30:12And I filled it full of water.
30:14So I did that, got me a cup, filled it up, and went outside.
30:22And I tried to call, tried to call, tried to call.
30:25So you're sitting in the far corner of the parking lot,
30:28and you're trying to call your girlfriend on the cell phone.
30:30Okay.
30:31And she wouldn't answer.
30:32She wouldn't answer.
30:33It was just a heavy load up on my chest.
30:35Mm-hmm.
30:36I looked over in the floorboard, and I had that little,
30:40it's like a little BB gun in the way, like, thing.
30:43As Wallace starts giving me details,
30:46I know he's not being 100% truthful, but we're getting to the truth.
30:50We're taking these, you know, baby steps.
30:54Okay, you walked in there with the gun.
30:56Walk me through what happened step by step.
31:00I pointed at her.
31:03She put her hands up.
31:05Mm-hmm.
31:05And she put the money on the counter.
31:09I told her, I just want the money, that's all I want.
31:11And I said, I'll be gone.
31:14And she said, you ain't getting these money bags.
31:16You're taking the bags, you're taking me.
31:20I'm starting to realize that this guy's full of shit.
31:23He didn't want to kidnap her.
31:25She came with him.
31:27He didn't want to rob the store, but his girlfriend broke up with him.
31:31Right?
31:32He's not the guy who's going to take any amount of responsibility for what occurred.
31:37Okay.
31:38I walked in.
31:39What happens next?
31:40We went up to windstores, and I turned off on dirt roads and get off the highway.
31:44And I stopped between there and all the way to sunset.
31:49I stopped probably about four or five times.
31:52And just ask us, ma'am, just please get out.
31:54I didn't even know her name.
31:54Okay.
31:56The thought process is to move in closer to Bowman and to continue to keep him talking.
32:02And the more he talks, the more information I'm going to find out, and the more I can get from
32:07him.
32:07I'm moving in the right direction with Bowman.
32:09But the reality is, I'm a young ranger, new in my career.
32:14This is only the second murder that I've ever worked.
32:16There's a lot of pressure.
32:18I was thinking, don't screw this up.
32:35It's been more than 24 hours since I was called to Scotland, Texas, to investigate the aggravated robbery and kidnapping
32:43of Mindy Daffrin.
32:45Wallace Bowman is saying some things that just don't add up.
32:51But he provides me with a new location where he left Mindy Daffrin off, and that's now Sunset, Texas.
33:00I feel like we're moving in the direction of the truth.
33:05I took off my own back roads and stuff.
33:07And, uh, seen this little clearing when I got up on that road.
33:12And I whipped up in there and said, I'm just going to leave the vehicle.
33:16And, uh, got out.
33:17I asked her, I said, just please, just give me the money, and I'll walk.
33:20You can take the vehicle.
33:23She got out of the vehicle and stuff.
33:24I was standing about four or five feet from her.
33:26And, uh, she picked up a rock and threw it at me.
33:29She's fighting me over the money.
33:31It was scaring me because I'm trying to get away.
33:33I try to just leave her.
33:34Mm-hmm.
33:37And, uh, she wouldn't let me go.
33:39I didn't know what she was planning on doing.
33:40Right.
33:40I know she's trying to manhandle me.
33:43I mean, straight fighting me over the money.
33:46And I really didn't care about the money now.
33:47Just take the vehicle and go.
33:50Right.
33:51And, uh, I grabbed that knife and...
33:54Where was the knife out?
33:55Laying the floorboard.
33:56Okay.
33:57And I just grabbed it and just swung around and stuff.
34:00And it stuck her.
34:01Where'd you stick her at?
34:02In the back.
34:03A collar right there in the back.
34:04Okay.
34:05On, uh, the left shoulder.
34:07And, uh, that's where she grabbed hold of me and stuck her with both hands.
34:09Up her side.
34:10The side of my head like that.
34:12Mm-hmm.
34:12And, uh, the knife is still in my hand.
34:15So, I grabbed her and pushed her away.
34:17And, uh, I looked at her and said, just, just leave me alone.
34:21And, uh, she said, no.
34:23She said, you stuck me, son bitch.
34:24You stuck me.
34:26I said, I didn't mean it.
34:27I said, just leave me alone, woman.
34:29And, uh, I was just laughing.
34:30I was sweating like that.
34:31Just, just to get, just scared.
34:34Just get up off of me.
34:35And, uh, that's where I see her grab her throat.
34:39And I seen just a little bit of blood and she fell on the ground.
34:43And that scared me.
34:46This is significant because it's the first time that he's actually admitting to doing something to her.
34:53He starts telling me that, you know, he stabbed her.
34:56Not, not once, but twice.
34:59When you left her, was she alive or was she dead?
35:04Well, I know for a fact when I left she was alive.
35:07She was alive.
35:10So I loaded up Wallace in the front seat of my car.
35:13And I had one of the Montague County Sheriff's Department deputies follow me out to this location.
35:20And he directs me to this kind of beaten down weed grass driveway that disappears off into this huge field
35:30with a bunch of woods on it.
35:35Okay.
35:38And I had him direct me to the location where he left Mini Daffrin.
35:45I walk farther back in the woods and I get to this spot with a burn mark, disturbed ground.
35:52And I start smelling gas.
35:57And then I see it.
35:59And I say it because it wasn't really necessarily distinguishable as a body.
36:10She had been, you know, completely burned into this nonrecognizable mass.
36:22And even though I can't say for certain this is Mindy, I know that it's her.
36:32I'd never seen anything, nothing like this.
36:39It's something that I'll never forget.
36:46I go back to where Bowman is and he immediately asked me if I found her.
36:56And I say yes.
36:58And then he asks if she's still alive.
37:03And I told him no.
37:18Bowman is housed in the Jack County jail and about three days after Mini Daffrin's body was discovered, he had
37:27reached out and wanted to communicate with me.
37:30It's really bizarre because I think it's the first time that Bowman really opens the door and shows us who
37:38he is in his own words.
37:40At that point, we went back through the Mindy Daffrin murder and what transpired.
37:49Okay, so she's laying there bleeding.
37:51Okay, then what happens?
37:53I went and got the gasoline that I had left in the vehicle.
37:58Because I always carried a little bit in there in case I run out.
38:02I set her on fire.
38:04Okay, did you hear a scream or did you hear?
38:06I didn't hear anything because the radio was still going on the truck.
38:11I had it cranked up and stuff.
38:13Listen to the radio, listen to Nickelback.
38:15And I said, did you, did you hear any screaming?
38:20And he said, no, I had the music too loud.
38:22I couldn't hear anything.
38:23And I mean, this just epitomizes Wallace Bowman as a person.
38:28Total and complete disregard for anything and anyone and doesn't care about anyone but Wallace Bowman.
38:46He basically said, you know, I had to do all this because my girlfriend left me and I needed some
38:51relief.
38:51He traveled to the France's house and I believe asked them for money.
38:56They didn't have any.
38:58He used that pistol and he shot Mr. France on the front porch.
39:03Karen France saw what was happening.
39:06She ran back in the house.
39:07He talked of beating her with the gun because it had jammed and then talked about kicking her.
39:13Then took his gas can and set that house on fire.
39:20The France's had attempted to assist him.
39:23They had allowed them to live in their home.
39:26And he repaid them by killing them and burning their house down with no remorse.
39:32He then travels to Scotland, Texas, where he decides he's going to rob that store.
39:37He takes that lady at gunpoint.
39:40And of course, as we know, ultimately kills her.
39:52Jim was very essential throughout this case.
39:56I don't know that we would have had the evidence we had had he not been there to do that.
40:00I don't know that we would have gotten a statement out of Wallace Bowman had he not been able to
40:05make that connection with him.
40:08I try not to think about this case, but what I saw is something that you just don't take out
40:17of your head.
40:18What happened to Mindy Daffrin was extremely difficult for her family.
40:24I can't even begin to imagine what they went through.
40:28She was a mother.
40:31She was a grandmother.
40:33She was a wife.
40:34She was a friend of the community.
40:37Mindy Daffrin's buried across from the store that she owned and loved and was a part of.
40:49And everyone in her family, from her grandchild to her children to her husband, were all part of that store.
40:58And I think at the end of the day, Mindy Daffrin's home.
41:11An innocent mother of three killed in their own home.
41:14It didn't make sense.
41:18Everything about this case rotates around three people.
41:21And I'm trying to weigh, is he going to lie for this guy?
41:24Your boy, Jesus, you think he's a brain surgeon? You think he's a dumbass?
41:28Dumbass.
41:28That'sariah Society
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